Fighting Faith — Bible Study Express

We have looked at how John used the noun "touchstoning" (Revelation 14:11
KJV ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. WEB ¹¹ The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. They have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.
) and move on to the verb "touchstoned" (Revelation 14:10
KJV ¹⁰ The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: WEB ¹⁰ he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.
).

The first occurrence in the New Testament is in Matthew 8:6
KJV ⁶ And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. WEB ⁶ saying, “Lord, my servant lies in the house paralyzed, grievously tormented.”
. The centurion's palsied servant is in bed "dreadfully touchstoned."

This is the common usage of "touchstoned", "tormented physically or mentally, usually by the gods or other authority, to put you in your place."

The context of touchstoning is similar for the third angel's message, and for the centurion and for Matthew.

Matthew tells six stories in chapter 8 to show the absolute authority of Christ. Everything falls within the gamut of Christ's control, even, and maybe especially, wavering followers. (Matthew 8:18-22
KJV ¹⁸ Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. ¹⁹ And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. ²⁰ And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. ²¹ And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. ²² But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. WEB ¹⁸ Now when Jesus saw great multitudes around him, he gave the order to depart to the other side. ¹⁹ A scribe came and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” ²⁰ Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ²¹ Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.” ²² But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
)

So what pure gold is this touchstoning revealing? Certainly the "great faith" (Matthew 8:10
KJV ¹⁰ When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. WEB ¹⁰ When Jesus heard it, he marveled and said to those who followed, “Most certainly I tell you, I haven’t found so great a faith, not even in Israel.
) of the centurion, compared with the ordinary but efficacious, faith of the leper (Matthew 8:2
KJV ² And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. WEB ² Behold, a leper came to him and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.”
), of the Peter and the villagers (Matthew 8:14-17
KJV ¹⁴ And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. ¹⁵ And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. ¹⁶ When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: ¹⁷ That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses. WEB ¹⁴ When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. ¹⁵ He touched her hand, and the fever left her. So she got up and served him. ¹⁶ When evening came, they brought to him many possessed with demons. He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, ¹⁷ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.” Isaiah 53: 4
), and the demon-possessed men (Matthew 8:28-34
KJV ²⁸ And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. ²⁹ And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? ³⁰ And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. ³¹ So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. ³² And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. ³³ And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. ³⁴ And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts. WEB ²⁸ When he came to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, two people possessed by demons met him there, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that nobody could pass that way. ²⁹ Behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” ³⁰ Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them. ³¹ The demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of pigs.” ³² He said to them, “Go!”They came out, and went into the herd of pigs; and behold, the whole herd of pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea and died in the water. ³³ Those who fed them fled and went away into the city and told everything, including what happened to those who were possessed with demons. ³⁴ Behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged that he would depart from their borders.
- we will consider them next time). But this "great faith" is deliberately, and linguistically, contrasted with the "fearfulness" and "little faith" of the disciples. (Matthew 8:26
KJV ²⁶ And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. WEB ²⁶ He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm.
)

Remember that the touchstoning of the beast worshippers in the third angel's message is contrasted to the same two elements. It is bookended by the "fear of God" (Revelation 14:7
KJV ⁷ Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. WEB ⁷ He said with a loud voice, “Fear the Lord, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the springs of waters!”
) and the "faith of Jesus." (Revelation 14:12
KJV ¹² Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. WEB ¹² Here is the perseverance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
)

Looking at the Greek brings this out strongly. The poor servant was reduced to timid, dreading submission by his touchstoning. The storm reduced the disciples to the same timidity (Matthew 8:26
KJV ²⁶ And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. WEB ²⁶ He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm.
"fearful") and would have ultimately kept them out of the kingdom (Revelation 21:8
KJV ⁸ But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. WEB ⁸ But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
- "fearful")

The servant's timidity would have been especially galling to the centurion. Timidity in battle was a great crime to such a warrior. It was discouraged in Joshua and the children of Israel before the conquest of Canaan.(Deuteronomy 1:21
KJV ²¹ Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged. WEB ²¹ Behold, Yahweh your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as Yahweh the God of your fathers has spoken to you. Don’t be afraid, neither be dismayed.”
"fear not") And disqualifies men from fighting with the armies of Joshua (Deuteronomy 20:8
KJV ⁸ And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart faint as well as his heart. WEB ⁸ The officers shall speak further to the people, and they shall say, “What man is there who is fearful and faint-hearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest his brother’s heart melt as his heart.”
) and Gideon (Judges 7:3
KJV ³ Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. WEB ³ Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.
).

The centurion's great faith was a result of of his conspicuous bravery in battle (the opposite of fawning timidity) and his being "readier to execute the orders he receives than to talk", Vegetius. Jesus expected no less from his followers (Matthew 8:26
KJV ²⁶ And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. WEB ²⁶ He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm.
). And the third angel indicates Jesus hasn't changed his expectations for those facing the rampart beast image.

Friends, in these last days, what is your attitude. Are you standing tall and conspicuously, armed with fear of God alone (Revelation 14:7
KJV ⁷ Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. WEB ⁷ He said with a loud voice, “Fear the Lord, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the springs of waters!”
), and the storm-stilling faith of Jesus (Revelation 14:12
KJV ¹² Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. WEB ¹² Here is the perseverance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
)? Or will the touchstoning reveal your mousy timidity and the same shrinking faith of those sinking disciples on Galilee.

Maybe you too, can develop the same mega faith that the centurion had. Faith that is about obeying orders even in the face of a seeming certain death. The centurion recognised Christ as a superior officer. Maybe you can develop the same mega fear (of Jesus) the disciples very quickly developed on that stormy night (Mark 4:41
KJV ⁴¹ And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? WEB ⁴¹ They were greatly afraid, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
).

The third angel is challenging you today. Look up in wonder at your Saviour. Even the wind and waves obey Him. Shouldn't you?